A Scream From The Sepulchre
Peter Tremayne
From Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine - May 1998
The tales of Sister Fidelma (such as this one), set in 7th century Iréland, nave, in one respect, a curiously contemporary feel. As Publishers Weekly said in its review or the first Fidelma novel, "in Tremayne's rendering (the period) is a golden age of total equality tor women." The series thus appeals to many besides history huffs. See The Subtle Serpent (St. Martin's/July '98).
A SCREAM
FROM THE SEPULCHRE
by Peter Tremayne
It was the evening of All Saints' Day and Tressach, a warrior of the guard of the royal palace of Tara, home of Sechnassach, High King of Iréland, was unhappy. That evening he had drawn the most unpopular duty, which was to act as sentinel in that area of the palace complex where generations of High Kings were buried. Rows of carved granite memorials marked the mounds where many of the great monarchs were interred, often with their chariots, armour, and such grave goods as were needed to help them on their journey to the Otherworld.
Tressach felt uncomfortable that this duty fell to his lot on this night of all nights. The evening of All Saints, or All Hallows, as some now named it, was an ancient observance which many still called the Samhain Festival even though the five kingdoms had long accepted the new Faith of Christendom. Samhain, according to ancient tradition, was the one night of the year when the mystic realms of the Other-world became visible to the living and when the souls of the dead could enter the living world to wreak vengeance on any who had wronged them in life. So strong was this belief among the people that even when the new faith entered the land it could not be suppressed. The Christians therefore incorporated the ancient festival by creating two separate celebrations. All Saints' Day was set aside as a day when the saints, known and unknown, were glorified, and the following day, All Souls, was given to the commemoration of the souls of the faithful dead.
Tressach shivered slightly in the cold evening air as he approached the walled-off compound of graves, far away from the main palace buildings which made up the High King's capital. Autumn was departing with rapidity and the first signs of winter, the white fingers of a creeping evening frost, were permeating across the sacred hills of Royal Meath.
Tressach paused as he contemplated the path that he had to take between the darkened mounds with their granite stone portals. They called this "the avenue of the great kings," for here were entombed some of the most famous of ancient rulers. There was the imposing tomb of Ollamh Fodhla, the fortieth king, who gathered the laws of Iréland and established a féis, or convention, which sat at Tara every three years at the feast of Samhain. This was when judges, lawyers, and administrators gathered to discuss the laws and revised them. Indeed, Tressach knew that hosts of judges and lawyers had already descended on Tara, for the convention fell this very year. They would start their deliberations in the morning.
Here, also, was the imposing tomb of Macha Mong Ruadh, Macha of the Foxy Hair, the seventy-sixth monarch and the only woman to have ruled all Iréland. Beyond were the tombs of Conaire the Great, of Tuathal the Legitimate, of Art the Solitary, of Conn of the Hundred Battles, and of Fergus of the Black Teeth. Tressach could reel off the names of those who inhabited the graves like a litany. How were the mighty laid low.
Yet, why a warrior needed to waste his time patrolling this resting place of the dead was a mystery to Tressach. What need was there to guard this desolate place; and why this night, of all the dark autumnal nights? Tressach would have preferred to be somewhere else .. . anywhere else.
At least he had a lantern, but its light gave him little comfort. He began to walk with a quick pace as he passed down the darkened aisle between the tombs. The quicker he completed his task, so that—in good conscience—he could report to his commander that he had walked through the compound, the better. The thought that, at the end of his vigil, there would be a mug of cuirm, a strong mead, acted as an added incentive.
He turned a corner and conscience made him pause near a row of tombs for an inspection. He held his lantern before him. He owed it to his commander and his pride as a warrior to make a cursory check at each vantage point. His eyes fell on a newly dug grave and he found himself suppressing a shiver. He knew that Garbh, the keeper of the cemetery, whose duties included the maintenance of the graves and the digging of new tombs, had been working here over the last two days. Although the grave was unfinished and empty, Tressach felt a morbid fascination as he stared at the yawning black hole with its piled dark earth around it. His imagination began to run riot and fearful childhood fantasies clutched at his mind. Any moment something fearful could raise itself out of that black pit! He genuflected and turned abruptly away.
Here, at the end of the row of more modern tombs, stood a mound set slightly apart. This type of grave was ancient and called a dumma. It was surrounded by a circle of granite pillar stones notched in Ogham, the ancient Irish writing which was falling into disuse since the new faith had brought Latin script into the land. Had it not been so dark, Tressach knew that one would have seen that this tomb was more richly endowed than the others. Under its grey stone portals were heavy oak doors, panelled in copper and bronze and reinforced with iron. The panels were studded with patterning of gold and silver.
It was one of the oldest of the graves at Tara. In fact, according to the chroniclers, it was some fifteen hundred years old. It was the tomb of the twenty-sixth High King, Tigernmas, known as "Lord of Death," for he was one of the most warlike of the ancient kings and had won thrice-nine battles in a single year. During his reign, so the old storytellers claimed, the first gold and silver mines were discovered and worked in Iréland. Tigernmas had become a rich and powerful king. It was he who had ordained that the people should wear clothes of varied colours to denote their clans and social status.
Of all the tombs that Tressach would have to pass this fearsome evening, he was most apprehensive of the tomb of Tigernmas. The old annalists had it that Tigernmas had forsaken the ancient gods and turned to worship an idol dedicated to blood and vengeance. Sacrifices were made at the feast of Samhain on the plain of Magh Slecht. Because of this, a terrible disaster had overtaken Tigernmas. He and all his followers died of a strange illness and his body was then returned to Tara to be interred in this last resting place of kings.
Tressach knew the story well and wished, for at least this night, that he could expunge it from his imagination. He clasped his sword hilt more firmly with one hand as he held the lantern high with the other. It gave him comfort. He was about to hurry on past the tomb of Tigernmas when a scream poleaxed him. His limbs lost all form of movement. It was a muffled cry, a strangled cry of pain.
Then an agonised voice distinctly cried: "Help me! God help me!" Tressach broke into a cold sweat, unable to move, unable to make a sound from his suddenly constricted and dry throat. There was no question in his mind that the cry had come from the long-sealed tomb of Tigernmas.
The Abbot Colmán, spiritual advisor to the Great Assembly of the chieftains of the five kingdoms of Iréland, a thickset, ruddy-faced man in his mid fifties, rose to greet the young religieuse who had just entered his chamber. She was tall, with grey-green eyes and rebellious strands of red hair escaping from under her headdress.
"Sister Fidelma! It is always good to see you here at Tara. Alas, you do not often bless us with a visit." He came forward with both hands outstretched. "Dominus tecum," replied the religieuse solemnly, observing protocol. But the smihng abbot shook his head, gripped her hands warmly, and guided her to a chair beside the fire. They were old friends but it had been some time since their last meeting.
"I was wondering wh
ether we should see you here this year for the convention. All the other judges and lawyers have already arrived."
Sister Fidelma, of the house of Brigid of Kildare, grimaced wryly.
"It would have been remiss of me to fail to attend, for there are many contentious matters that I want to debate with the Chief Brehon."
Since the reign of the High King Ollamh Fodhla, twelve hundred years before, the féis of Tara had met every three years to discuss the law of the land. Judges, lawyers, and administrators gathered to debate the workings of the law and whether, in the light of changing society, any amendments or changes needed to be made.
Abbot Colmán smiled happily and offered Fidelma a drink of mulled imported Gaulish wine. When she indicated her acceptance he took down a pottery amphora, emptying some of the red wine into a jug, then, taking a red-hot poker from the fire, he dipped it into the sizzling liquid. Then he poured a measure into a silver goblet.
The evening was chill and Fidelma appreciated the warm liquid.
"Is it really three years since you were last at Tara?" inquired the abbot, shaking his head in mock disbelief as he seated himself in a chair opposite her.
"It does seem a lifetime ago," agreed Fidelma.
"The king still speaks with wonder of how you solved the mystery of his stolen sword."
"How is Sechnassach, the king? Is he well? And his family, do they prosper?'
"They are all well, Deo gratias," the abbot said piously. "But I hear that much has happened to you since ..."
He was interrupted by a sharp rap on the door.
The abbot made an apologetic glance towards Fidelma and bade the caller enter.
It needed no expertise to see that the warrior who stood there was in some state of shock. In spite of his sheepskin cloak, his body shook as if with intense cold and his face was white. The lips quivered almost uncontrollably. His dark eyes flickered from the abbot to the young rehgieuse and back again.
"Well, man," Colmán said sharply. "Out with it. What is it you seek?"
"Lord Abbot," the man hesitated. His voice was a mumble.
Colmán heaved an impatient sigh.
"Speak up, man!"
"I am Tressach of the palace guard. My captain, Irél, has sent me to fetch you. There has been an incident..."
Tressach's voice trailed nervously away.
"An incident?" queried Colmán. "What incident?"
"There has been an incident in the cemetery of the High Kings. Irél requests that you should attend immediately."
"Why? What incident?" Colmán obviously did not enjoy the prospect of having to leave the warmth of his hearth and wine. However, the abbot was both an officer of the royal court and an ecclesiastical advisor, and any incident affecting spiritual matters at Tara, in which the upkeep of the cemetery was included, came under his jurisdiction.
Sister Fidelma had been examining the nervous warrior under lowered brows as she sipped her wine. The man was clearly in a state of extreme unease. The abbot's abrupt manner was not helping him. She placed her goblet on the table and smiled reassuringly up at him.
"Tell us what has happened and then we may see how best we can help."
The warrior spread his arms helplessly as he turned to her.
"I was on guard. By the tombs, that is. This very evening, I was on guard. Abruptly there came a scream from the tomb of Tigern-mas ..."
"From the tomb?" queried Fidelma sharply.
"From inside the tomb, Sister." The warrior lent emphasis to the statement by genuflecting. "I heard a voice crying distinctly for God to help it. I was in mortal fear. I can fight with men but not with the wandering tormented souls of the dead."
Colmán was tut-tutting. His face showed scepticism.
"Is this some mischievous prank? I am well aware what night this is."
But Fidelma could see that humour was not in the fearful face of the warrior.
"Go on," invited Fidelma. "What did you do?'
"Do, Sister? I hastened away as fast as I could from that accursed place. I ran to report to my captain, Irél. At first, like the abbot, he did not believe me. He and another warrior took me back to the tomb. Oh, by my soul, Sister! The voice came again. It was fainter than before but still crying for help. Irél heard it and so did the other warrior who accompanied us."
It was plain Colmán still did not believe him.
"What is it Irél wants me to do?" he demanded cynically. "Go there and pray for the souls of the dead?"
"No. Irél is one not given to a belief in wandering spirits. My captain wants permission to open the tomb. He believes that someone is inside and hurt."
The abbot looked aghast.
"But that tomb has not been opened in fifteen hundred years," he protested. "How could anyone be inside?"
"That's what Garbh told him," agreed the warrior.
"Garbh?" queried Fidelma.
"The keeper of the cemetery. My captain, Irél, sent for him and requested that he open the doors of the tomb."
"And did Garbh do so?' asked the abbot, irritably.
"No. He refused unless Irél obtained higher authority. That is why Irél sent me to you, to seek your permission."
"Quite right. This is a matter of seriousness," Colmán muttered. "The decision to open tombs is not one a soldier—even the captain of the palace guard—can make. I'd better come along and see this Irél, your captain." Colmán rose to his feet and glanced at Fidelma. "If you will forgive me, Sister ..."
But Fidelma was rising also.
"I think I will come with you," she said quietly. "For if a voice comes from a sealed tomb, then someone must have been able to enter it... or else, God forbid, it is indeed a spirit calling to us."
They found Irél, the sombre-faced captain of the palace guard, standing outside the tomb with another warrior. There was a third man there, a stocky man with rippling muscles who was clad in a workman's leather jerkin and trousers. He had pugnacious features and was arguing with the captain. The man turned as they approached and, with relief on his face, greeted Abbot Colmán by name.
"I am glad that you have come, my lord Abbot. This captain is demanding that I break open this tomb. Such an act is sacrilege and I have refused unless ordered to do so by a churchman of authority."
Irél stepped forward and saluted the abbot.
"Has Tressach explained the matter to you?" His voice was curt.
The abbot glanced disdainfully at him.
"Can we hear this voice?" Colmán's tone was sarcastic and he cocked an ear as if to listen.
"We have not heard it since I sent for Garbh," replied Irél, keeping his irritation in check. "I have been trying to get Garbh to open the tomb, for every moment is urgent. Someone may be dying in there."
The man called Garbh laughed drily.
"Look at the doors. Not opened in fifteen hundred years. Whoever died in there, died over a millennium ago."
"Garbh, as keeper of the cemetery, is within his rights to refuse your request," Abbot Colmán explained. "I am not sure that even I can give such permission."
It was then that Sister Fidelma stepped forward.
"In that case, I shall give the order. I think we should open the tomb immediately."
Colmán swung round and frowned at Fidelma.
"Do you take this matter seriously?"
"That an experienced captain of the guard and a warrior take it so should be enough reason to accept that they heard something. Let us see if this is so."
Irél looked at the young religieuse in surprise while Garbh's features were forming into a sneer of derision.
Colmán, however, sighed and motioned to Garbh to start opening the doors of the tomb.
"Sister Fidelma is a dálaigh, an advocate of the law courts, and holds the degree of anruth," he explained to them in order to justify his action. "She has the authority."
Garbh's eyes flickered imperceptibly. It was the only indication that he made in recognition of the fact that the young religieu
se held a degree which was only one below the highest legal qualification in the land. Irél's shoulders seemed to relax as if in relief that a decision had finally been made.
It took some time for Garbh to smash open the ancient locks of the door and swing them open.
As they pressed forward there were some gasps of astonishment.
Just inside the door was the body of a man.
They could see that this was no ancient body. It was the body of a man who was but recently dead. From his back there protruded a length of wood with which he had clearly been shot or stabbed. It was like the shaft of an arrow but without feathered flights. He lay facedown behind the doors, hands stretched out as if attempting to open the doors from the inside. They could see that his fingernails were torn and bleeding where he had scrapped at the door in his terror. And his face! The eyes were wide with fear, as if he had been confronted by some evil power of darkness.
Tressach shivered violently. "God look down on us!"
Garbh was rubbing his chin in bewilderment.
"The tomb was securely sealed," he whispered. "You all saw the seals on the door. It has been sealed for fifteen hundred years."
"Yet this man was inside trying to break out." Fidelma pointed out the obvious. "He was apparently dying even as Irél was ordering the tomb to be opened. It was his dying cries that Tressach and Irél heard."
Irél glanced towards Sister Fidelma.
"This is hardly a sight for a sister of the Faith," he protested as he saw her moving forward.
"I am a dálaigh," she reminded him. "I shall take charge of this investigation."
Irél glanced questioningly to Abbot Colmán, who nodded slightly, and the captain stood aside to allow Fidelma to enter the tomb. She ordered the lanterns to be held up to illuminate the area.
Fidelma moved forward curiously. She had heard all the stories of Tigernmas, the infamous High King, who had ordered his Druids to be put to death and turned to the worship of a gigantic idol. Generations of children had been frightened into obedience with tales of how the evil king's soul would ascend from the Otherworld and take them off unless they obeyed their parents. And now she stood at the door of his tomb, unopened since his body had been placed in it countless generations ago. It was not an inviting place. The air was stale, dank, and smelling of rotting earth and vegetation. A noxious, unclean atmosphere permeated the place.
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